We just got back from Japan. Your videos helped us prepare. My husband was so looking forward to Kyoto, mainly from iconic tourism photos of empty edo streets with the occasional geisha. He was shocked by how crowded it was and he said it was kind of discussing how it’s just a huge tourist trap. We also didn’t realize it’s a city of over 1 million people 😳 not a small quaint town. Our favorite spot was a rural mountain area, still touristic but we enjoyed it. Shibuya is crowded but a lot of fun.
hmmm,... places in Kyoto can be almost vacant ... Rokkaku-do and Shimogamo Shrine are incredibly historical and important to Kyoto but few to zero tourists ... I think it is the same way in Nokogiriyama in Chiba Prefecture and especially Chiba Park. If you have time, please go to Dogashima in Izu Peninsula ... it's a little hard to visit but the ferry from Numazu is fun to ride.
We just got back from Japan last week. Your videos definitely helped us prepare! Kyoto definitely felt the most congested, but we found that going in the morning (before 9:00) to temples/tourist areas was the best way to avoid peak crowds. We absolutely loved the train and subway systems and hope to visit outside of the Golden Triangle on our next trip. Nara was definitely our favorite spot on the whole trip
I was in Japan from Oct 18th -- Nov 2nd, and lemme tell you I had to SWIM through the crowds in Kyoto haha! Best thing I did whenever masses started to appear was = take the first back alley possible and experience the lesser known places. Wanted to climb Mt. Inari, but didn't wanna take 1 step pr. 5 minutes, so I spoke to an elderly local and he pointed me to the "old bamboo" way up the mountain - highlight of my trip, walking through dense vegetation and seeing old moss-grown shrines on my way up.
I'm currently working on planning a trip to Japan for next year for the autumn season and I'm doing so much research of the places I want to go as it's my first time and of course I'll do the golden route with Hiroshima included. From basics manners to basic phrases to get me along the way and not disrupt the local people daily routine. Thank your for your content every time it definitely helps. Hopefully after my first visit I can continue visit Japan and explore more lesser known areas as a nature lover and Japan has so much nature to explore to my heart content.
Thanks Nathan. More people need to watch videos on basic manners before coming to Japan. I just walked past a group of foreign tourists sitting on the sidewalk in Shinjuku eating snacks from 7/11. No, no. They were just forcing everyone to walk around or step over them. Downtown Shinjuku sidewalks are NOT public parks or picnic tables…
Funny how combini sell plenty of ready meals and actually warm them for you to eat while there’s no damn place to eat them if you are a tourist. So instead of complaining as usual, provide solutions like space where we can eat and don’t disturb anyone. And no, only a very few of them have chairs and stall to eat and they close at 5 ok so don’t tell me that’s a solution.
@@NinjaMonkeyguy possibly a bit harsh, I get where she’s coming from. I love Japan and respect everything I can, raising my kids to be respectful of other cultures too. Aka. Don’t be an American ahole everywhere. That said, popping into a combini is great, so much awesome food, but what’s a tourist to do? Most of the time, they are out, away from their hotel or “safe” space to eat. It’s a catch 22, tourism is good and I get not catering to tourist but many times it seems locals go out of their way to make it hard in them at the same time. That said, I can’t wait to go back in 2024
I’m in Japan right now, my second trip from the same time last year, November. Tourists piss me off with their entitlement attitude. I was at Mt Misen and witnessed tourist climbing the boulders and just sitting there thinking they are entitled to ruin everyone’s photos of the mountain scenery. In other areas groups standing in the middle of the sidewalk blocking people from walking. Eating and smoking while walking, throwing their trash down instead of doing what the locals do, take it home to dispose of it. Tourists are ruining Japan. Learn the customs and respect their culture or stay home!
Handy info as always & enjoying some of the less known location videos recently. Would love a video where you mention some of your favorite itineraries you’ve done.
Got back from Japan last week, I did the Hiroshima/Miyajima, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo route over 2.5 weeks, Yes the crowds round the main tourist areas were a pain, but also found some great hidden gems just a few minutes walk from the main areas, a bit of research on google maps goes a long way here. Already thinking about my next trip, and while I do want to spend some more time in tokyo as missed so much this trip, I was already thinking of having the other week in a less touristy place, Kanazawa was already on my ideas list, so will definately be checking out your guides 😀
Already planning a trip! welcome to the club :) Kanazawa is great and there's a second part to the guide that should hopefully be published soon too! I recommend Aizuwakamatsu and Ashikaga as more low key but 'get away from the crowds' locations too!
Currently in Japan and If Japan puts a monthly cap or something on incoming tourists from China they would have resolved lots of problems. I have been traveling outside the golden Triangle and the amount of multiple Groups with 30 plus people all from China( They have signs and speaking Mandarin mostly some rare instances Cantonese) The point is even in a Shinkansen to Kanazawa groups of tour groups and they all seem to be from China. Just pointing that out. Thanks Ninja Monkey for the awesome content
Interesting, From my experience Chinese tourists tend to "speed through" locations come in groups of 30 for 20 minutes then head back on to their bus to continue
I agree that there are a lot of Chinese tourists everywhere. They are loud and annoying even as a tourist. In Kyoto bamboo park there was a ratio of 1:1 Chinese to bamboo
i'm planning to travel to japan in 2024 with my wife for the first time in my life it has been my dream for a long time. we are very nervous but this video really help us to go more prepare
I'm heading to Japan in March 2024 and knowing these changes could prove very helpful once I'm there. I'm going on an organized group tour that starts in Osaka, going to Koyasan, Kyoto (Including Nara), Takayama, Matsumoto, Kawaguchiko before ending the tour in Tokyo.
My one and immediate wish is for tourists to stop littering. The beauty of this land partly lies in its' impeccable cleanliness. It distresses me greatly watching people being hell bent trying to clutter these pristine roads with garbage. And as a person who lives at the foot of Fuji山, it is quite noticeable how much 'less clean' the roads are in recent times.
For Chinese, Japan is close by and easy, fun to visit. To be fair,... West Lake in Hangzhou is the top site to visit for Japanese in China. Even the park signs are in Mandarin and Japanese. Utterly beautiful and like nothing you can see in Japan.
i'd like to see some content about alternates to JR - Tobu line to Nikko? Kintetsu from Osaka (or Kyoto) to Nara/Nagoya? (and the value of Kintetsu Rail Pass) Romance car to Hakone? etc.
Thanks for another great video mate! Just returned from japan and watching your video's before we departed really helped us a lot thank you and keep up the good work! I read that before covid 19 travel and tourism accounted for 2% of the country's total GDP, does japan rely on tourism? and do you think its worth the changes japan is making to accommodate foreign visitors? After seeing the huge number of visitors that were there I can understand the frustrations of the locals. Many of the local buses we took were 30% visitors and some stops the driver dorve past because the bus was full leaving people at the bus stop. In New Zealand we rely heavily on tourism and being roughly the same size as japan with only 5 million foreign visitor numbers hardly impact on our infrastructure.
It’s difficult to know but I do feel that a big part of the problem is infrastructure needs to simply catch up with tourism, there are plenty of other cities and countries around the world that have big numbers of tourism, but have it set up in a way that is less impactful due to the infrastructure I also think that there is a lot on offer outside of the major cities and hopefully Japan will realise that they need to make these places more accessible and slightly cheaper so that people might actually visit
I believe there is room to add taxes/fees to support the sites/infrastructure that tourists want to visit: per group tour bus fees, fees on ferry tickets to Miyajima, fees on tourist train passes, fees on entrance VISA, fees to climb Fuji-san , if not exorbitant should be acceptable to visitors (heck if the fee receipt was some kind of collectable ticket - they might be HAPPY to pay) on that note - some of the complaints about the JR pass price increase might go away if JR shared how much of the increase went to support infrastructure that visitors use (500 yen of every pass goes to support Kyoto or whatever)
Cool to learn the phrase "bullet climbing." I've read about people saying they were going to do something like that on Reddit but had never heard a term like that to describe it.
@@NinjaMonkeyguy After rebuilding the train station I really doubt that the Kyoto municipal government will do much else. hahaha! just make all the temples and shrines pay taxes and Kyoto will be drowned in money. Even our family pays danka money to our temple.
There are promotions for other areas but it seems to me they are always directed to Japanese and in Japanese language ... you'll see the posters in major train stations.
A great video Nathan. The only thing I would add is to at least learn a few phrases of Japanese for basic things. If you can't be bothered to do that, at least become familiar and use a translation app. Most people don't respond well to someone coming up to them and speaking in a language that is not native to that area, and increasing the volume assuming that being louder will making sounds that have no meaning to the locals, suddenly meaningful. We are guests in Japan and many of these ideas make sense to the Japanese. You are not special and following these rules will make an already polite and accommodating people more willing to try and accommodate your wishes, if possible. Most of us want to be seen as individuals and not as part of a crowd just disrupting life. Japan is not a theme park, so go along to get along. For many of the viewers of this channel, Japan calls us to come and enjoy the many marvels that can only be found and enjoyed by those embrace the country as it is. Cities big and small, and the countryside, even remote areas all have a charm that is all their own, with rules that those who reside there expect you to follow. Do so, and travellers will be welcomed. That's the way to become a Happy Gaijin in Japan.
I was proud of myself, after a 12 day trip I only had to use Google translate once- to ask a hotel worker if they had a scale available so I could weigh my bags before going to the airport. I had it typed up and ready to go and just showed the screen to the person at the desk. It's a great tool to have when you need it!
Most tourists are ignorant, sadly, They learn little of the culture or language in advance, and act as if the cities are amusement parks and not functioning places where people work and live.
The JR pass is no longer for tourists but for people like me who's been to Japan multiple times and often goes on day trips to meet with friends in close by regions...
@@NinjaMonkeyguyI heard that the price of the JR Pass hadn’t changed in over 20 years… too bad they didn’t increase it gradually over that time period, however, it seems as if they are hoping to discourage too much tourism - maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
its not going to discourage tourism... trains will remain as crowded in the golden route and people will travel less to the lesser know places as a result so..@@gwarlow
Just paid the tourist tax, hopefully the money really does go to the island, because I don't mind chipping in even more if it keeps the island maintained
my plans are Tokyo, Shibukawa, Tokorozawa, Saga prefecture and Fukuoka,. i had my fill of Kyoto and Miyajima. saw Hiroshima sufficiently ove the previous 2 trips. i havent yet gone to Osaka but thats for another trip if possible..
Osaka really is a must-see city. Not just for the bright lights of Dotonbori and the amazing markets, but the people there are really charming. Because it was a commercial/merchant city, people there love to chat, make jokes etc. so it's very different from say, Tokyo, in that regard. It's way more free-spirited (people even walk and smoke!) They've also got a thing where if you "shoot" someone with your hand shaped like a gun, they will respond - they'll shoot back or hold their hands to their chest or whatever. Amazing city :D
Japan should create new tourist sights (observation decks, shrines, anime statues) in areas that they want to divert people and then TikTok it to death as tourism promo videos because young people seem to flock to wherever tiktokkers tell them to go. Sadly, the majority of tourists that will behave badly are going to do it regardless of education because when it's their inconvenience they will throw manners out the window.
The thing is that Japan has so many of these that are less known that really all they need to do is make it more accessible, and let people know they are there!
carrying luggage has nothing to do with being eco-friendly. Less luggage means more space for tourists and more $. If it's such a problem, I suggest all these amateur travel vloggers quit.
I think it’s more about the inconvenience of luggage taking up space making it hard for people to move around the bus rather than being eco friendly, I’m not sure if the vlogger comment is a dig at me because you didn’t like the content? 😌
No point to climb Mount Fuji , nothing really , the mountain is only looking beautiful from a far but if you are climbing you see nothing of the mountain.
Yes sir it looks like only from your nose and upwards is illuminated the rest of your body looks like it's being blocked by something and a shadow is visible
Thank you for you videos. They helped me a lot planning my trip earlier this year. Talking about out-of-the-way places to escape overtourism, I just posted a video of my 10 favorite places from my trip. There are more detailed videos on my channel that I posted while on the trip. Here is a link to today's video. Maybe you can share with your viewers some of these locations: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Bc2kmQanrA8.html
@@NinjaMonkeyguy It's sad to me,... after the Bubble Economy collapsed, instead of reinvesting in STEM and exports, the central government told JNTO to promote foreign tourism. I wonder how much foot-traffic UNESCO sites can suffer before they eventually get trampled to death.
I am so glad I have been multiple times Kyoto wont go back unless on way elsewhere cant stand to many tourists. I love the quieter areas and have been to many lesser visited places that have so much to see Kyoto has been spoiled by tourism . I dont think tax will help .I think they should have a bus that tourists only use only to take away from locals being angry at not being able to get on buses I walked everywhere in Feb when visited as buses were packed. I walked miles but was better than being crammed in a bus .
The tourists spots simply need to invest in better infrastructure so that they can cope with the numbers. "over tourism" is only the word used because they can't cope. Many cities around the world get a lot of tourists but they can cope because they have it. Hopefully any tax will help with this in the future
hmmm,... there are incredibly peaceful places in Kyoto with few to zero foreign tourists. Somewhat unfortunately I have to go back in December and want to attend morning service at Nichi Honganji (one of the monks has an incredible voice!). Shimogamo Shrine is extremely vacant as well as Rokkaku-do. I really like the Kyoto Train Museum (but the little kids never let me use the hands-on displays). The Kanji Museum in Gion is also nice but not English language friendly.
@@towada1066 Sounds great what time does the morning service start love to hear him sing maybe I would visit on my way from Kyushu just to hear him sing then get train to continue my journey
Over tourism? Bro this was the same shit in 2018.....the amount of people hasn't changed they just forgot how it was..... I swear these videos people keep among are trash
Actually the whole concept of "overtourism" is worth discussing. And as a frequent traveller I can say that things have got much more crowded as the years have progressed from 2014-2019 Kyoto especially has got increasingly busy. the fact that after the pandemic things are pretty much the same as 2019 (without the chinese tourists!) is quite impactful. .. the issue is mostly with prep and infrastructure. Many other cities (Paris, London etc) have A LOT of tourists but the word 'over tourism' is never really used there